Alamedans will see low turnout – on the ballot

Alameda voters will be faced with low turnout on their local ballots this fall, with a pair of candidates running for mayor and three candidates in the race for two open council seats.

School board trustee Trish Herrera Spencer’s late-breaking decision to run for mayor dashed what would otherwise have been a coronation for incumbent Marie Gilmore, who bested four challengers when she ran for the open mayor’s seat in 2010.

Meanwhile, incumbent councilman Stewart Chen will run for a four-year term in the fall, against former councilman Frank Matarrese and Jim Oddie, an aide to Assemblyman Rob Bonta.

The number of candidates running for City Council this fall is the lowest in the 18 years of results that were available through the California Secretary of State’s office and the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. Most of those races saw seven or eight candidates bidding for council seats.